George Leef: It's time to slow down the college-degree mania

8:57 PM,
Nov. 29, 2012

George Leef

Written by

George Leef
McClatchy-

For many years the conventional wisdom in the United States has been that the more people who graduate from college, the better off we'll be. It's time to challenge that "wisdom." The evidence says it's wrong.

In his first major address early in 2009, President Barack Obama set forth a national goal of becoming first in the world in the percentage of college-educated citizens. Supposedly, that would make our economy more productive and competitive.

The notion that the economy can be pulled up by processing more young people through college has lots of allure at the state level as well. Two ...